Disconnectable busbars having contact regions or joint assemblies are commonly used in various applications, including electrical power transmission networks. Disconnectable joint assemblies are useful, for example, where a utility may need the ability to disconnect a joint to sectionalize a piece of cable for repair. By way of example, a bad or damaged cable may be disconnected from the busbar to remove the cable from the circuit in a quick and efficient manner, and then reconnected to the busbar after the repair is made. In many instances, the busbar includes a contact area with one or more flat pad surfaces, lugs, or posts which are configured to mate with a standard terminal lug. The terminal lugs are generally disconnectably and reconnectably secured to the flat pad surfaces, lugs or posts by a bolt or the like, for example.
Typical busbars 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, use a flat pad surface 3 at an end 4 of the busbar 2 which is configured to mate with the terminal lug 5 or the like. A vertical wall 6 which is perpendicular to the edges 7 of the pad surface 3 is traditionally adjacent to the pad surface 3. This type of design is problematic for both the electrical and mechanical connection of the terminal lug 5. As the terminal lug 5 is secured by only one bolt (not shown) located at position 8, the terminal lug 5 can rotate about the bolt at position 8, causing the bolt at position 8 to loosen if the terminal lug 5 is allowed to rotate excessively (as shown in FIG. 2), thereby causing intermittent electrical and/or mechanical problems or failure. In addition, excessive rotation or movement of the terminal lug 5 creates a non in-line installation which makes it difficult to install outer shrinkable insulating tubing over the connection, thereby affecting the mechanical connection therebetween. Additionally, the perpendicular vertical wall 6 adjacent the pad surface 3 creates a catch point for the rip cord of a cold shrinkable joint, making the installation thereof difficult.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a contact region of an electrical conductive member which addresses the concerns of the prior art and provides both a reliable electrical connection and a reliable mechanical connection.